As is well known, a mobile communications system (MCS) offers various services, such as a cellular phone service, a radio pager service and the like, to mobile subscribers connected to the MCS by radio. Basic components of the MCS comprise a plurality of mobile stations (MS's), a multiplicity of base station subsystems (BSS's), a number of mobile switching centers (MSC's) and a mobile subscriber information register (MSIR).
A MS is a subscriber portable terminal assigned to a mobile subscriber. Each of the BSS's includes resources providing channels between each of the MSC's coupled thereto and the MS's within a service area thereof. Each of the MSC's is capable of handling voice and/or data transmitted from the subscribers connected thereto. Each of the MSC's is coupled to a transit network (TN), the TN comprising one or more electronic switching systems to be used for relaying voice and/or data between a public switched telephone network (PSTN) (not shown) and each of the MSC's and between the MSC's.
The MSIR registers subscriber information for the mobile subscribers. The MSIR is connected to each of the MSC's through the TN. The subscriber information for each of the mobile subscribers includes a subscriber number, subscriber data (SD), and location information (LI). The SD includes services available to each of the mobile subscribers. The LI represents a location where a MS assigned to each of the mobile subscribers has performed a last location registration. The LI is registered in a predetermined format including, e.g., a MS location parameter of latitude, longitude and resolution information.
The LI of the conventional MCS described above, however, is dedicated in positioning the MS's by the MCS and cannot be accessed by an individual subscriber. As a result, when a mobile subscriber wants the location of the MS of another mobile subscriber, it will be necessary to set up a call with the MS to find out the location thereof, even though the LI of the MS of the other mobile subscriber is registered in the MSIR.